ReadWriteWeb

I have to admit, I read with fascination this morning the latest Techmeme headline from Techcrunch: "Yep, Apple Killed the CD Today." Of course, a headline like that is meant to cause a reaction - and it did, by the number of tweets, Diggs and comments. In my gut, I agree with the general trend (as it applies to computers) - the optical drive is becoming passé in favor of smaller portable storage options like USB flash drives and even file-sharing via Web-based tools.

However, optical media itself is not dead yet - far from it, mostly thanks to Blu-ray. So perhaps the headline should have read "optical drives in computers are not really all that important anymore, but Blu-ray is doing well." But that wouldn't have been as catchy.

Tomorrow, Home, a documentary about the environment, will make both its big and small screen debut simultaneously. Users will be able to watch the movie on YouTube, but at the same time, it will also be available on DVD, in cinemas (at least in France), and it will be shown as a primetime broadcast on France 2. The film was directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and produced by Luc Besson, who also produced The Fifth Element and other popular movies. This marks the first time that a full-length movie makes its debut both on YouTube and in theaters, and is a good example of YouTube's efforts to attract more advertisers by featuring more professionally produced content.